BJD not willing to demand 'special status' tag by putting conditions

BHUBANESWAR: Claiming that a special category status was Odisha's 'genuine' right due to its backwardness, ruling BJD MLAs on Monday ridiculed Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's formula of putting condition to get the tag.

"We will not sell or bargain 'swabhiman' (selfesteem) for getting the status of special category state. We will not hesitate to revolt against the Centre in demanding the status," said BJD vice-president Prafulla Ghadai.

"We cannot put condition like Nitish Kumar to get special category status. We will fight for our rights," Ghadai said during zero hour in the assembly, adding chief minister Naveen Patnaik has been demanding it for the past 13 years.

Patnaik, he said, had raised the issue at different platforms like National Development Council (NDC) and Planning Commission. Stating that the Centre proposed to change criteria for putting states in special category list, Ghadai said "We will verify what changes they bring. Odisha satisfies all criteria except having international border to get special category state status."

The issue of Nitish Kumar's "Adhikar" rally in Delhi on Sunday was raised during Zero Hour by senior Congress member SS Saluja who offered to support BJD if it holds a similar event in Delhi for Odisha's demand.

"Hold a swabhiman rally at Delhi. Leaders cutting across party lines will support the government if it demands special category status," Saluja said. His suggestion was rejected by many BJD MLAs who questioned Congress's silence on the issue.